Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 and 260: Gaming Performance Review. Page 8

Our study of the theoretical potential of Nvidia GeForce GTX 200 graphics architecture showed that these new solutions are pretty promising, however, have a few issues of their own. The test session in contemporary games should cross all t’s and dot all i’s on this matter.

Performance in RPG

Hellgate: London

Being in fact a mix of a role-play game and a first-person shooter, this game should be enjoyed at a high frame rate like that delivered by the GeForce GTX 200 cards. It is one of the few cases when the G200 processor achieves an unprecedented level of performance. The GeForce GTX 260 makes the game playable at 1920x1200. The Radeon HD 4870 can’t do the same due to the low bottom speed.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The game loses much of its visual appeal without HDR. Although some gamers argue that point, we think TES IV looks best with enabled FP HDR and test it in this mode.

The GeForce GTX 200 series doesn’t show anything exceptional in this test. It is even inferior to Nvidia’s previous-generation cards due to the lower core clock rates. TES IV doesn’t require anything special from the graphics card, though. Every tested card, including the Radeon HD 3870, ensures comfortable playing conditions at resolutions up to 1920x1200 pixels. We can note that the Radeon HD 4870 and 4850 offer a higher bottom speed at 1920x1200 than the rest of the cards including the GeForce GTX 280. Perhaps we’ll check out even higher display modes in another review.